Marriott 3-for-2 Offer in the Middle East and Africa
This is a very old offer that started in the SPG times long before the merger, and Marriott has been extending the offer since.
You can access the offer page here. It’s a partner offer with Mastercard, so in theory when you make the booking it has to be on a Mastercard.
There are three forms of rate type: 3-for-2 (Stay three nights and pay for 2), 4-for-3 and 6-for-4, which are equivalent to 33% off, 25% off and 33% off respectively.
To book, simply enter your stay details on the offer page, or search on Marriott’s homepage with promo code BOG. In the example below, the BOG rate is indeed the cheapest one across the board:
Note that however, this rate is non-changeable and non-refundable, which makes it very unattractive in the current climate. Still it’s worth knowing of though in case it becomes useful for your future trips.
Qatar Airways and Accor Plus Status Extension
With the pandemic’s threat still very strong, multiple airline and hotel corporations have published new status extension or qualification reduction policies for 2021 already.
Qatar Airways has just announced that, all elite memberships that are due to expire during 2021 will be valid through 2021, if you fail to meet the qualification criteria.
It is not hugely generous to be honest, as it only means a measly couple of months’ extension for those whose status is about to expire towards the end of this year. However, Qatar Airways ran a status match campaign in May 2020, and those who got their free status will also benefit.
It looks that Accor Plus, a paid Accor scheme in Asia Pacific, has also got a new policy. As you can read here:
Please Note: Due to the impact Covid all Accor Plus members will maintain their current status upon renewal in 2021.
You should be able to extend your status for another year when you pay to renew your status in 2021. It’s only mentioned in the AU site, but from the sound of it it should be a system-wide policy for all Accor Plus members.
Radisson Double Points Promotion
Radisson Rewards has just launched their new quarterly global promotion. You can sign up here.
You earn double points for all paid stays completed between 1 February and 30 April. Unfortunately reward stays won’t benefit from this promotion.
Double points means an additional 20 points for each dollar spent on your room. Radisson Rewards awards double points compare to the other programmes including Marriott, IHG and Hilton (10 per $), but its value is relatively low too.
Free 125 Avios Monthly via New Nectar Partnership
British Airways has just announced a new strategic partnership between the Avios and Nectar schemes. The partnership is very extensive and will start taking effect on Monday.
Most importantly, you could soon interchange freely your Avios and Nectar points. The ratio is fixed at 250 Avios = 400 Nectar points. As there doesn’t seem to be any limit or loss to your transfers, essentially Avios and Nectar will be sharing all their earning and burning routes.
And there’s a new way to earn free Avios now, if you aren’t aware yet. There is a browser plugin called Nectar Notifier for Chrome, Firefox and Safari. You can learn more here.
Once installed, you can open the plug-in and perform searches which go through Yahoo’s search engines. Websites that support Nectar earning will be highlighted in the search results, and you’ll see pop-ups when visiting them.
Quite useless yes, so incentives are needed for people to use them. You earn 100 Nectar points (62.5 Avios) for installing the plug-in, and then 1 point for every two searches performed, up to 200 points (125 Avios) per month.
You can see how many points you’ve accrued for the current month, and they should post to your Nectar account within a month.
For sure it doesn’t earn you many points however you don’t need to spend much time either. It’s a simple way to top up your Avios account and to keep your points active.
Free Upgrade to Ascott Platinum Membership
We’ve written about the Ascott Hotel Group a few times before (for example here and here). Ascott is a serviced-apartment chain based in Singapore, with a few properties in the UK as well.
They’ve run many status match and instant upgrade promotions before, and there’s another one now. The new offer is in partnership with OCBC, a Singapore-based bank.
You could access the offer here. Create a new account or log in using your existing credentials. The upgrade should apply immediately and if not try signing out of your account and then back in.
The offer runs until the end of the 2021 but I’m not sure how long the matched status is valid for (should be at least 12 months). Platinum members’ benefit checklist is here, mainly including room upgrade, free breakfast in Europe and airport transfer in the Middle East.
IHG UK & Europe 34% off Sale
Lacking in creativity, IHG has resurrected its 3-for-2 sale for UK and Europe hotel stays.
You could access the offer page here.
- Book by 30 April
- Stay by 31 May
- The Special Night on Us rate is 34% off the best flexible rate
- A non-refundable first night deposit is required
- Date is amendable up to 48 hours before the stay
Here are some London examples (rate per night):
- InterContinental London Park Lane £208
- Kimpton Fitzroy £157
- Crowne Plaza London the City £76
- Crowne Plaza Kings Cross £60
- Crowne Plaza London Kensington £76
- Hotel Indigo Paddington £67
- Holiday Inn Regents Park £65
- Holiday Inn Express Vauxhall Nine Elms £46
- Holiday Inn Express Hammersmith £40
It’s a bit weird that IHG still wants a deposit for your reservations given the current climate.
Remember to register to the 2,000 bonus points for every two nights promotion, and if you are eligible for the Milestone Bonus you can earn even more.
Free Blinkist Subscription for Amex Cardholders
The past year hasn’t been great for American Express, as most of the travel benefits it’s proud of were of nil value due to the pandemic. In the meantime, Amex has also been trying to expand to more partnership opportunities.
If you currently hold an Amex card, you could claim a free one-year Blinkist subscription here.
Simply follow the process, create an account and add your payment details (no charge will be taken) and it’s done. Remember to visit Settings and cancel the subscription to avoid being charged though:
Your trial will still be valid for one year. On the page the wording suggests it’s for U.S. Amex cardholders only, however it appears to be open to all Amex account holders.
Blinkist presents short summaries, in text or audio, of non-fictional books.
Official: IHG Launching Milestone Bonus
Many of us have noticed the mysterious “milestone bonus offer” in our IHG account from as early as December 2020, and now IHG has finally made an official statement.
You can view the offer details here. Invited member can:
- Earn 10,000 bonus points for every 10 nights stayed in 2021
- Earn a one-time 20,000 bonus points on top when you’ve stayed 40 nights
- Only paid nights (minimum rate of $30 per night) count
- Excluding Army, Mr & Mrs Smith and Six Senses hotels
Unlike what Hilton or Hyatt has been doing, this offer is by invitation only, which is a shame. There’s no need to register, you’ll see the offers in your account section if you are eligible.
If the responses are good, IHG might make it public to everyone next year.